Dr. Franz Alexander Residence 1011 West Cielo Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The Dr. Franz Alexander Residence was designed by famous modernist architect Walter S. White in 1956. Built by Rooth & Carr with structural engineering by Stanley E. Malora of Los Angeles, the house was designed as a desert retreat for internationally renowned psychoanalyst Dr. Franz Alexander and his wife, artist Anita Venier Alexander. White, who was also an industrial designer, inventor and builder, returned to the house almost thirty years later to design a sympathetic addition in 1984. In 2016, the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places whose application reads in part “designed in the Modern Style….the curling gesture of its roof, peeling away from the building’s boxy envelope, and the unusual steel framework that supports the roof and overall structure, are the dwelling’s primary and highly visible character defining features.”
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On November 12, 2020, the Palm Springs city council unanimously (5-0) approved the Class 1 Historic Resource designation of the Alexander Residence. PSPF board advisor and nomination author Steve Vaught made compelling public comment in support of the designation and Palm Springs mayor Geoff Kors complimented PSPF’s scholarly research.
On September 1, 2020 the city’s Historic Site Preservation Board voted unanimously (4-0) to recommend to city council approval of the Class 1 Historic Site designation of the Dr. Franz Alexander Residence. PSPF board advisor and nomination author Steve Vaught made public comment in support of the nomination.
On July 2, 2020 the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation (acting as agent for the owner) submitted the 70-page Class 1 Historic Resource nomination for the Dr. Franz Alexander Residence to the Palm Springs Historic Site Preservation Board.
In September of 2019, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation board of directors assigned the task of writing the Class 1 Historic Resource nomination of the Dr. Franz Alexander Residence to PSPF board advisor Steve Vaught.
